Thanks Kybourbon and Suze - very helpful information.

hmm, this turned into a luggage question! :)

OzzieZ, you probably already have your question answered, but just to throw my hat in the ring - we have found that our luggage is just fine at the end of the car. We stored our small carry cases (laptop cases, etc.) above the car and the roller bags at the end and that worked perfectly. there is plenty of room to stack bags, but make sure you pick the right end! some cars only have storage on one end of the cars. As for space between the seats, I have not seen this.

kybourbon, yes, that is exaclty what I tried to do at the machine. I punched in four seats all together when the ticket machine asked me to choose the seats. but we were still all separated! I was quite perturbed! oh well. I guess there is no way to get around this? does anyone else have a suggestion?

Ira, yes we asked the persons to move on each train. once the person graciously complied, once the person refused and seemed quite annoyed at us and kept muttering something in Italia with "americans" interjected periodically, and so the third time my father would not let me ask because he was too embarassed. He doesn't like to give any foreign national a reason to hate american tourists more!

dcm,

I did notice your posting was somewhat highjacked.

Back to the seating issue, Rome-Naples is less than two hours so while it's nice to have seats together, I would just relax about it and maybe you'll get to talk to some locals.

Obviously, this wouldn't be good with very young children but I sense that you're all of an age where you can regroup once you get to the station in Naples.

Have a great rest of journey.

Hi dcm58

Thank you for the info, and sorry for hijacking your thread.

It would be great if anyone could explain to dcm58 how to book train tickets for specific seats so that everyone can sit together - please!

kybourbon,

Sorry to hear that some agents are charging fees. My last Italy trip was in March 2008. I booked a number of tickets at one particular travel agency for no additional fees. Perhaps this was true because I was in a neighborhood away from the tourist center.

Me? I usually use the machines, but since I had a series of trips and ticket to buy I was happy to sit calmly while someone else punched the buttons.

I can't imagine Ozzie will have difficulty with these tickets in December.

Ozzie - I addressed dcm58's question earlier although I imagine they have already traveled since they are in Italy. When using the ticket machine, you will see the layout of the seats and can pick which ones you want just like when booking plane tickets online.

Here's a great site that explains all about trains in Italy:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/trains/index.htm

Sorry dcm58. I didn't see your post. I'm suprised the ticket machine didn't work. What type of train was it? Were you booking 1st class?